To the delight of hundreds of thousands of intrigued readers, we recently shared NASA’s list of the best terrestrial plants for purifying the air in your home. But have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually fill your urban dwelling with natural air filters?
One environmental activist and model, Summer Rayne Oakes, did just that. Thanks to 500 thriving indoor plants, her small New York City apartment is a green oasis in a city of steel and cement. In a video Barcroft TV recently released on YouTube, Oakes explains how her obsession with plants began and eventually took over her home, saying of the overall effect, “When people come into the house, I like this element of feeling like they’re walking through a forest. My friends always get whacked in the face with a branch, but I was like, that’s the point. You’re walking through a forest.”
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According to Oakes, it all started with a fiddle-leaf fig tree, a plant that, over time, can grow to be enormous outdoors but can provide a dramatic element of green to an indoor space as well. With a closet turned grow garden for herbs, pineapples, and sweet potatoes, Oakes exemplifies the modern-day green thumb, but with a name like Summer Rayne, are we really that surprised?
What’s more surprising is that Oakes only spends about 30 minutes a day taking care of her massive plant collection—not bad considering you’re only one episode of South Park away from cleansing the air and greening your space. Even if the vast majority of us aren’t about to go buy a whole nursery worth of plants to populate our living room, Oakes’ lifestyle suggests we might all benefit from a little more greenery in our lives. “What’s great about them,” she adds, “is they don’t talk back.” Now that’s an ideal roommate.
Watch the video above to see the botanical haven for yourself and don’t be shocked if you’re inspired to start cultivating your own indoor jungle.
